WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced a settlement
agreement with the State of Maryland regarding conditions of confinement in
two juvenile justice facilities: the Cheltenham Youth Facility in Cheltenham,
Maryland and the Charles H. Hickey, Jr. School in Baltimore County, Maryland.
The settlement resolves a 20-month investigation into the facilities.

The agreement, filed with the United States District Court for the District of
Maryland, requires the state to implement reforms to ensure that juveniles in
the facilities are protected from harm and provided legally adequate services,
including mental health care, medical care, and special education.

“We are pleased with the state’s cooperation and willingness to implement
meaningful reforms at these two facilities, both of which have long and
troubled histories,” said Bradley J. Schlozman, Acting Assistant Attorney
General for the Civil Rights Division. “If juvenile offenders are to be put on
the path to law abiding and productive lives, they must not be subjected to
the kind of conditions that have plagued Hickey and Cheltenham in the past.”

The Department’s investigation revealed numerous civil rights violations,
including physical abuse of juveniles by staff, deficient suicide prevention
measures, inadequate medical and mental health care, and legally insufficient
special education services. Under the terms of the agreement, the state will
address and correct all of the violations identified by the Department.

The Civil Rights Division conducted its investigation pursuant to the Violent
Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 and the Civil Rights of
Institutionalized Persons Act of 1980 (CRIPA). These statutes allow the
federal government to identify and root out systemic abuses such as those
identified in this case, rather than focus on individual civil rights
violations.

The Department of Justice’s enforcement effort reaches beyond juvenile
facilities. Since 2001, the Department has opened 62 similar investigations
into the terms and conditions of confinement at nursing homes, mental health
facilities, residences for persons with developmental disabilities, jails, and
prisons. These figures represent more than a 100 percent increase over the 20
such investigations initiated in the 1998-2000 time period.